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Day 2 turned out to be yet another intriguing contest between bat and ball as both teams went hard at each other, refusing to give any leeway. England held the upper hand for some part of the morning session before Australia made a spirited comeback into the game. The wicket, which did a lot for the faster bowlers yesterday, looked to have eased out a bit by the end of the day’s play. Still, we do have a riveting contest on the cards.
Here are the Heroes of the Day:
Ashton Agar (98 runs off 101 balls; 12 fours, 2 sixes)
He may not have picked up a single wicket on his debut yesterday, but 19-year-old Ashton Agar proved he was more than handy with the willow. With his side nine wickets down and only 117 on the board, he forged a solid 163-run record stand for the last wicket with the entrenched Phil Hughes, as both southpaws batted their team to safety with a slender lead of 65 runs. Agar was particularly severe on Steven Finn and even had the nerve to hammer the world’s best off-spinner Graeme Swann for two sixes. He scored his runs at a fast clip and was unlucky to miss out on a well-deserved maiden Test hundred by two runs. Terrific stuff!
Phil Hughes (81 n.o. off 131 balls; 9 fours)
Under-fire batsman Phil Hughes signalled his return to form with a patient innings of 81, as he held one end up while wickets tumbled around him. He put on 55 runs for the fifth wicket with young all-rounder Steven Smith before combining with debutant Ashton Agar in a record stand for the last wicket. These are good signs for Australia, especially with middle-order stalwarts Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin misfiring in the first innings.
Steven Smith (53 runs off 79 balls; 7 fours, 1 six)
The PWI all-rounder had scored half his side’s runs at the end of yesterday’s play. On Day 2, he carried on his partnership with Phil Hughes and scored his fourth Test half-century with a lovely boundary off Swann. However, he departed just when he was shaping up for a big knock, but he had already laid the foundation for the later assault by Agar and Hughes. Steady and patient, Smith is the ideal choice for Australia to bat at No. 5.
James Anderson (5/85 in 24 overs)
The right-arm pacer did exactly what his Aussie counterpart Peter Siddle did yesterday. He bowled with subtle variations in pace and swing, and used the extra bounce on offer to good effect on the way to claiming his 14th five-wicket haul in Tests. After finishing off yesterday’s proceedings with the dismissal of the bespectacled Chris Rogers, the Lancastrian returned to remove Steve Smith, Peter Siddle and left-hander Mitchell Starc; however, he was kept at bay by the last-wicket pair of Agar and Hughes. Nevertheless, Jimmy did extremely well with the ball, bowling a wicket-to-wicket line at times, making it difficult to score.
The Test is still evenly poised, with England regaining the lead by 15 runs despite losing two early wickets. They will look to skipper Alastair Cook and maverick batsman Kevin Pietersen to consolidate further on the morrow. Day 3 promises to have more fun in store, but since the pitch seems to have eased out a bit, the batsmen may have more of a say. Game on. Definitely!
